The Forum

“In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree … “ - Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is one of the most famous poems in the English Language. But it is also one of the strangest. It was composed during an opium dream, it remains unfinished and according to one theory, was implicated in a war in South Africa. And what is its relation to the real life Kublai Khan, the 13th century Mongol emperor who conquered China? Joining Rajan Datar to discuss this mysterious poem is Coleridge’s award winning biographer Richard Holmes, the poet and senior lecturer in English Dr Peter Anderson from Cape Town University in South Africa, Professor Samantha Harvey from Boise State University in the US, and the Chinese historian Professor Kent Deng from the London School of Economics.(Photo: Royal Pavilion in the Phraya Nakhon Cave, Thailand. Credit: Mazzzur/GettyImages)

Eva Peron rose from a childhood of poverty to become one of the most powerful figures in Latin America. An illegitimate small town girl, she smashed class and gender barriers to become Argentina’s controversial First Lady. Loved and loathed, Rajan Datar discusses her life, work and remarkable afterlife with biographer Jill Hedges, historian Ranaan Rein, and cultural theorist Claudia Soria.Photo: Eva Peron in 1951 (Keystone/Getty Images)

Flamenco is easily recognised across the world thanks to certain stereotypes, namely spotty dresses, shirt-tearing and lots of foot stamping. The reality however is far more nuanced, and this extraordinarily complex music and dance form can take many years – if not a lifetime – to master. For those steeped in its traditions, they describe it as a way of life. With the help of musical examples, Rajan Datar and guests explore how flamenco works, and discuss how it’s grown from its origins in the marginalised communities of southern Spain to become a commercial success the world over. Joining Rajan are flamenco aficionado and guitarist Brook Zern, dancer María Bermúdez from flamenco’s heartland in Jerez de la Frontera and Dr Matthew Machin-Autenrieth from the University of Cambridge in the UK.Photo: Flamenco dancing (Getty Images)

Thomas Sankara is the revolutionary who became the first president of Burkina Faso in West Africa, and gave the country its name, meaning 'the land of upright people'. In his short time as leader of Burkina Faso, Sankara instituted sweeping reforms to make the country more self-sufficient and society more equal. For some Sankara was a hero, for others, he was a ruthless autocrat. This year marks 30 years after his mysterious -and as yet unsolved- assassination, but why do memories of him still haunt Africa to this day? Joining Bridget Kendall to discuss Thomas Sankara, are Dr Amber Murrey-Ndewa from the American University in Cairo, Lamine Konkobo BBC Afrique journalist from Burkina Faso, and Aziz Fall, Professor of International Studies in Canada and campaigner for justice on behalf of the Sankara family. Photo: Thomas Sankara at a press conference in Paris, 1986. (Getty Images)

It is a fibre and a fabric that is part of many people's daily lives, it grows wild on at least three continents, it has been woven into cloth and traded all over the world for thousands of years. And when machines made possible the mass production of cotton, its story became entwined with the history of human slavery: making fortunes for a few, and condemning many to a life of misery. So what are the milestones in the history of cotton? And why has it always proved such a popular clothing material across the centuries and across the world?Bridget Kendall is joined by four textile historians to trace cotton's origins and its evolution into one of the world's most important global commodities: Sven Beckert, Professor of History at Harvard, Prasannan Parthasarathi, Professor of History at Boston College, Giorgio Riello, Professor of Global History and Culture at the University of Warwick and the President of the Textile Society Mary Schoeser.Photo: Cotton yarn (Getty Images)

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was formed in 1863 and its objectives have been to ensure protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict ever since.It's a story about the often challenging and sometimes controversial development of global humanitarian intervention, the Geneva Conventions and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.Bridget Kendall and guests Dr Hugo Slim, Professor Andrew Thompson, Caroline Morehead and Syrian Canadian aid worker Layal Horanieh will explore the story of the ICRC and the complex negotiations required to operate in conflicted parts of the World.Photo: An aircraft of the International Committee of the Red Cross (AFP/Getty Images)

It was at the Moscow Art Theatre from the 1890’s onwards that Stanislavsky developed an innovative acting system that demanded actors really inhabit the role they are playing. This then inspired Method acting, which originated in the United States, and whose disciples range from Marlon Brando to Marilyn Monroe to the majority of big stars around the world today - some of whom have taken the system to an alarming extreme. This programme explores Stanislavsky's life and legacy, and also asks if his work has a role outside the theatre. Joining Bridget Kendall are Maria Shevtsova, Professor of Drama at Goldsmiths University of London, the Russian theatre historian Dr Arkady Ostrovsky, and the actor and director Bella Merlin.Photo: Anton Chekhov, in the centre of the picture, reading his play 'The Seagull' with theatre director Stanislavsky on Chekhov's right. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The extraordinary life and prophetic inventions of the Serbian-American engineer Nikola Tesla. Bridget Kendall and guests discuss not just Tesla's key contributions to the design of modern electrical appliances and systems but also his dream of a worldwide system of free wireless electricity, his ambitious scheme to build huge towers to make it happen and why in 1917 his plans and the first tower at Wardenclyffe near New York City came crashing down.Bridget is joined by Jasmina Vujic, Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Berkeley, University of California, and a Vice President of the Tesla Memorial Society of New York; Jane Alcorn, the President of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe; and Michael Krause, a historian, writer and director of the documentary All About Tesla.Photo: A Tesla Coil in action. The man in the photo is wearing a specially designed ferroalloy metal suit which keeps him safe while the high voltage crackles from him.(Getty Images)

Adam Smith, a moral philosopher and economist, was born in Scotland, the son of a customs officer. In 1776 he published a book called 'An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations’. Smith basically argued against the over regulation of commerce and said if people were set free to better themselves, it would produce economic prosperity for all. To discuss his work and legacy are Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Intellectual History Vivienne Brown, the UK Labour Party peer and economist Lord Meghnad Jagdishchandra Desai, Professor of History Fania Oz-Salzberger and Emeritus Professor of Political Theory Christopher Berry.Photo: An illustration of Adam Smith, circa 1765. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

From Chicago to Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur to Dubai, the towering modern skyscraper has become a global icon. Touching the clouds worldwide and shaping our cities’ skylines, these bold structures have long captured the imagination and stirred debate. But where did the story start?In this programme, Bridget Kendall and guests look to America to explore the foundations of some of the world’s very first skyscrapers. Discussing cities such as Chicago and New York, and landmarks such as The Empire State and Seagram buildings, they discuss the factors that prompted such places and the people who built them to look to the skies. Plus, they ask what these early towers share with the dizzying structures that overshadow them today.With expert guests Carol Willis, Thomas Leslie and Benjamin Flowers.Photo: A construction worker sits on a girder above the New York streets. (Helmut Kretz/Keystone/Getty Images)

How did we get from not having any reliable way of predicting the weather just 150 years ago, to today's accurate, tailor-made forecasts for places as small as a village? Bridget Kendall and guests trace the history of meteorology, from its first steps as an aid to quicker trans-Atlantic shipping to the latest methods which can help anticipate weather events as short-lived as a tornado. Bridget is joined by Kristine Harper, a former US Navy forecaster and now a history professor at Florida State University; Peter Gibbs who started out as a meteorologist with the British Antarctic Survey and the UK's Met Office before becoming one of the best known weather forecasters on BBC radio and television; and Peter Moore, a writer and historian with a particular interest in weather discoveries of the 19th century.Photo: A hurricane is seen from the International Space Station. (Scott Kelly/NASA via Getty Images)

Five-hundred years ago, in a remote part of Germany, a little known friar called Martin Luther set in train a series of events that led to the permanent splintering of Western Christianity. It changed the political and social landscape in a way that still resonates today all over the world. The Forum comes from Trinity Hall, part of Cambridge University in the UK, with historian professor Ulinka Rublack, professor of English Literature Brian Cummings, professor of Theology Alec Ryrie and the Reverend Daniel Jeyaraj. The British actor Simon Russell Beale reads from Luther's writings and members of the Cambridge University Choir of Gonville and Caius College perform Lutheran hymns. (Photo: A Statue of Martin Luther in Eisenach, Germany. Credit: Getty Images)

Bridget Kendall and guests examine the story of Detroit. Founded in 1701 by a French man named Cadillac, this American city became famous in the twentieth century for its automobile industry, the music of Motown, and the great unrest seen on the city’s streets in the summer of 1967. In this programme, Bridget and guests discuss the city’s changing fortunes and its fascinating history, from the role played by some residents in the ‘Underground Railroad’ of the nineteenth century, to its recent experience of bankruptcy. Bridget is joined by Herb Boyd, Stephen Henderson, Thomas Sugrue and Anna Clark. Also featuring Tiya Miles and Carleton Gholz.(Image Credit: STAFF/AFP/Getty Images)

They are familiar figures in folklore and popular culture, swashbuckling across the silver screen, snarling on stage as pantomime villains or committing daring deeds in childhood literary classics. But who were the real life pirates of the Caribbean and how much of what we think we know about them is based on fact? Rajan Datar is joined by maritime historian David Cordingly, academic and author Margarette Lincoln and author Laura Sook Duncombe who has written about pirate women.Image:Black Beard Credit: Getty Images

From East to West, Rumi is one of the most universally respected poets of all time. A 13th Century Islamic scholar, his encounter with a wandering dervish transformed him into a globally celebrated mystic and poet of love who has crossed borders of time, faith, language and geography.Rajan Datar discusses his life, work and legacy with scholars Fatemeh Keshavarz and Omid Safi, and biographer Brad Gooch.(Photo: Pray Mount Nemrut, Commagene. Credit: Getty Images/tugbahasbal)

Bridget Kendall and guests explore the history of the guitar which stretches back over several thousand years. From early instruments made of tortoise shells the guitar emerged as one of the great cultural crossover instruments, encompassing folk traditions around the world, classical music and spine-tingling rock riffs. With guitar master John Williams, composer and guitar expert Professor Stephen Goss, Turkish guitarist Cenk Erdogan and French guitar maker Celine Camerlynck.(Photo: Boy with home made guitar. Credit: Daniel Hayduk/AFP/Getty Images)

Bridget Kendall and guests examine the rise and fall of Julius Caesar, the Roman politician and general, who conquered vast areas of Europe, defied his political peers, and acquired great levels of power, becoming ‘dictator’ in Rome. His behaviour, battling and bold reforms shook the late Roman Republic to its very core.From Caesar’s early steps on the political career ladder in ancient Rome, to his affair with Egypt’s Cleopatra and his assassination by his colleagues, Bridget and guests discuss the action-packed life of this leader and writer whose legacy lives on, more than 2,000 years after his birth.Bridget is joined by Cynthia Damon, Luca Grillo and Matthew Nicholls. Plus, Miryana Dimitrova introduces Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar.Image: Julius Caesar (Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Few novels have had such a huge impact on modern popular culture as Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The story and its terrifying main character have fascinated readers, critics, writers and film-makers ever since it was first published in 1897.Across the world there are fan clubs devoted to the fictional Romanian aristocrat who brings terror to Victorian England. Bridget Kendall is joined by Dracula expert Dacre Stoker, gothic studies specialist Dr Sorcha Ní Fhlainn and Dr Sam George from the University of Hertfordshire in the UK.Photo: Actor Christopher Lee portraying Count Dracula. (Keystone/ Getty Images)

The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt is one of the greatest wonders of the ancient World. It is the largest pyramid ever built and even today, with advanced satellite and thermal imaging and other high tech science, we don’t know everything about the pyramid- exactly what’s inside or how it was built. To explore the history of The Great Pyramid - also known as the Pyramid of Khufu, after the Pharaoh who commissioned it as his tomb, Rajan Datar is joined by Professor Salima Ikram, Distinguished University Professor and Egyptology Unit Head at the American University in Cairo, space archaeologist Dr Sarah Parcak, a National Geographic fellow and associate Professor at Birmingham University Alabama in the USA and Dr Joyce Tyldesley, an archaeologist and Egyptologist from the University of Manchester in the UK.Photo: The Pyramids at Giza. (Getty Images)

When the fifteenth century German entrepreneur Johannes Gutenberg pioneered the printing press, he made an indelible mark on the history of communication. Here was a way to print pages in high quality and high quantities, using methods more efficient than had ever been seen before.Rajan Datar and guests explore the story of how the printing press was born, and how it changed our world - from the birth of the modern book to the rise of the information society, and the transformation of fields including scholarship and religion.Rajan is joined by art historian Hala Auji, publisher Michael Bhaskar, scholar Cristina Dondi and the writer John Man.Photo: Circa 1450, A bas-relief of the German printing pioneer Johannes Gutenberg (c 1400 - 1468) checking his work while his assistant turns the press. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)